Entries in CBC Mission Trips
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The Charis Colorado team to DewsburyAs soon as the team of Charis Bible College students returned from their trip to England, the testimonies started pouring in. The fruit from these missions trips never ceases to amaze, and this trip was no exception.

“The one thing that stood out to me the most,” recalls student Ben Kaewakami “was seeing the New Testament church in action. It’s an experience that will stick with me forever. It was an unstoppable force that commanded change wherever it went.”

The power of the Holy Spirit in action was made evident through the lives of the people who were touched—people like Arne Thomassem, a first-year student at Charis Dewsbury (Yorkshire) who was delivered from lifelong depression after receiving prayer from Charis Colorado student Amy Sky.

Amy Sky“This was a major stronghold, and its removal has had a deep impact on me,” says Arne. “The horizon suddenly became very bright. In the following days and weeks, I have become more aware of the change. It is permanent!”

As Eileen Quinn prepared to speak at a church in Shelfield, she had no idea that God was using her to prepare people’s hearts for miracles. “When I finished speaking,” remembers Eileen, “several of the students came forward and gave eyewitness testimonies of miraculous healings that took place in their lives. Hope was mounting in the people’s hearts.”

The room was charged with faith as the team gave an invitation for healing. As they laid their hands on the sick, words of knowledge began to flow out of them like streams of living water, reaching people right where they were.

As Eileen looked around the room, she noticed a woman in a purple sweater standing frozen in front of her seat. When Eileen asked if she wanted prayer, the woman whispered, “I’m a nurse, and I killed my mother two years ago when I had to take her trachea [tube] out. She died.”

Charis Colorado student (left) and Rosélia Carter, intern at Charis Walsall (right)“I felt an anger rise up on the inside of me,” recalls Eileen, “because I knew that that accusation against her was a lie. By His Spirit, I told her how God saw her situation and that she had to break agreement with the lie she had believed. She had done her best, nursing her mother, but her mother died in the process.”

As she spoke out loud, breaking the agreement, a loud cry came up from her, and she began to wail. Something she had been holding in for two years left her body, and she was free. Clinging onto Eileen, the woman started praising and thanking God. “She could finally mourn her mother’s death now that the lie of condemnation was gone. He heals the brokenhearted!”

“It continues to amaze me that every meeting we had was successful,” Ben adds, “to think that God could flow through us like that. Some of us have never prayed for anyone or spoken in front of an audience before. It truly is incredible what God can do with people who are willing and obedient.”

What is purpose? Why is it necessary? How can we find it? Purpose is “the reason for which something is…created” (Oxforddictionaries.com). It is a goal—an intention. Purpose drives us to accomplish something. It helps define who we are and give us the boundaries we need to direct our lives. Without purpose, even we Christians can wander aimlessly and struggle with feeling unfulfilled.

That’s how Charis Bible College student Jackie felt before returning from her second-year missions trip to the Dominican Republic. “Before we left for the DR, we were told that these trips tend to be more for the students that go on them than the people we minister to. They said to expect God to reveal Himself to us in very personal ways and look forward to experiencing a deeper relationship with Him. I didn’t understand how that could happen, but it proved to be very true for me.”

The mission base Charis partners with in the DR is unlike any other in the world. Tim and Trena Johnson are lifelong missionaries. They’ve been on the field for nearly thirty years and have called the DR home for nineteen. When teams journey to work with Tim and Trena, they find not only a place to minister but also a place to be ministered to. Every morning, Pastor Tim takes the time to encourage the students individually and spur them toward discovering God’s giftings in their own lives.

“The first time we went out for ministry, I began to be overcome with fear,” Jackie recalled. “I knew I couldn’t do what I felt the others were asking of me. I’m not a preacher. I don’t sing. I’m not great at drama. I couldn’t figure out why I was even there. But when we arrived, the Spirit of Christ rose up in me, and all I could think of was to reach out and welcome every person I could physically touch. I was fine after that and tried to help wherever I could.”

As their times of ministry (and Tim’s encouragement) continued, Jackie began to find her purpose. “Nothing really dramatic happened to me on this trip. I didn’t see God use me as a frontrunner or teacher, but I did find peace in the DR. Before the trip, I compared myself with those around me, looking at their gifts and talents and feeling condemned for not having my own. I knew 2 Corinthians says this is not wise (2 Cor. 10:12), but it wasn’t until God showed me who I was created to be that I overcame it. God created me to be a helper. He created me to encourage His body through words and small acts of kindness (even cleaning the kitchen). That is my gift, my purpose, and I’m determined to do it wherever I can!”

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms .

While second-year Charis Bible College students were preparing for their annual missions trip to Europe, Amos Casa—a second-year Charis Colorado student from Italy—heard an instructor say, “If you don’t feel qualified, you’ll be a great leader. God wants you usable—not perfect!”

That little seed of encouragement rooted itself inside Amos’s heart and kept him through the feelings of inadequacy and fear until he boarded a plane heading for Germany and was able to say, “God, this trip is not about me; it’s about You.”

Amos’s first stop was in Cologne and Dusseldorf. There, he and other students from Charis teamed up with European Initiative to share the “new” message of God’s unconditional love with everyone they could. “It was amazing to see hearts open to the Gospel. Almost none of the people we talked to had ever heard about grace,” he said. “But my favorite moment was when we stopped in Berlin.”

In the capital city of Berlin, the team met many people from all over the world. They arrived in this tourist haven completely unaware of the part God’s hand played in the timing of their trip. “In Italy, there is a lot of religion,” Amos explained. “But it’s religion that represents God the wrong way. I spoke with several Italians in Berlin who asked me why I went to America to learn about religion. I got to share the true nature of God with them and tell them about His love and purpose for them individually. I know the Holy Spirit gave me the words to say. By the end of the trip, I’d led eight teens to the Lord, seven of whom were Italians.”

And Amos’s experience wasn’t an isolated event. Each of the students ministered to hundreds of people through dramas, music, and preaching. During their ten days of ministry, the team reached out to an estimated 12,000 people, and 98 Europeans made decisions for Christ! “The Charis team profoundly impacted the spiritual landscape of the three German cities we stopped in,” said a spokesman from EI. “We are immensely grateful to Andrew Wommack Ministries for their partnership with us.”

Matthew 5:14 says that we are the light of the world. How many people are waiting for us to turn on our light? How many do we know who are waiting to hear the true message of the Gospel? “God wants to use me and you to expand His kingdom and give hope to those that are hopeless,” Amos said. “We can play a part in rescuing them from destruction! It’s not about our skills or talents. It’s not about our experience. It’s about our willingness.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”